Mass Effect A Biotic's tale
by Hitokiri Akins
Summary: A retelling of the game where Commander Shepard lost her ability to use her biotics after the Mindoir raid, and her quest to regain her abilities.
1. Prologue

**Author's note:** I'm writing this story because certain things about the game bugged me; particularly, a lot of the things that would have done and certain ways they would have reacted, but couldn't in order to appeal to a larger audience. Having military experience, I had many "THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT WORKS!" moments, so I decided to write this. Now, my service was a few years ago, from 2001 to 2005, but my personal experience gives me a lot of insight on how the military members of the Mass Effect crew thinks. That said, enjoy the story.

The morning started like any other; 1st Lieutenant Annah Shepard was sitting in her office in the armory, going over the drills and training exercises she was going to run the squads through today. She had just exited her office when the attack alarm sounded. _So much for training_, Shepard thought, as she started running toward the command center.

She pushed her way through the personnel who were running toward their own battle positions, eventually reaching the command center; a room with many computers, monitors and communications devices. She had done many training exercises in this room, but something very important was missing; her superiors.

"Where is General Rivera?" Shepard shouted when she got her bearings. "Or Commander Nolan?"

"We can't seem to get a hold of them, ma'am," one of the NCOs said.

Shepard's mind immediately started racing; until the command staff could get a hold of the General or the Staff Commander, _she_ was in charge. Until this very moment, Shepard had only been in charge of squads; she hoped she was up to the challenge of coordinating a battle. "I need a status report," Shepard said.

"A batarian pirate fleet has just attacked the orbital defenses," Serviceman First Class Himura said. "Our scanners indicate that they are sending drop ships into the city!"

_Batarians,_ Shepard thought, as she began plotting out what needed to be done. "Scramble all fighters. We need to keep them off the ground until we get our ground forces mobilized. And get the GARDIAN defense system activated!"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Serviceman Himura said, immediately getting on the phone and contacting the aircraft hangar.

Shepard turned to Service Chief Denning. "Get the ground units mobilized; those fighters are not going to stop everyone," Shepard ordered. The Service Chief nodded, and immediately got on the phone as well.

She then turned to Serviceman Third Class Austin; the newest member of the command staff. "Get Arcturus on the horn; tell them to send something out here, immediately!" The Serviceman complied, and Shepard waited for confirmation of her orders.

"Fighters are in the air, Lieutenant, and are engaging the pirate drop ships," Serviceman Himura said.

"Ground forces are ready to move," Chief Denning said.

"Triangulate where the drop ships are going to land, and position ground forces within a hundred meter radius," Shepard said. "How is the GARDIAN coming along?"

"Slowly, ma'am. They haven't been activated in months, and are taking too long to charge," Chief Denning said.

"Dammit," Shepard said, wracking her brain for an alternative. "Launch the SAMs. They may not punch through shields like GARDIAN does, but enough of them will pound those shields into oblivion."

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Chief Denning said.

"We've just got confirmation from Arcturus, Lieutenant," Serviceman Austin said. "They're sending a frigate flotilla into the system. ETA, 8 minutes."

Shepard nodded, thinking of what else needed to be done to hold Elysium for the next 8 minutes. "Get that GARDIAN system online and firing. I don't care if we have to go out there and repair it ourselves; I want that GARDIAN laser firing!"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Serviceman Austin said.

"And find out what's keeping the Commander and the General!" Shepard bellowed across the entire command center.

Six minutes passed in the battle, and only then was the command center getting information about Commander Nolan and General Rivera; the General had been at the orbital station at the time, and was killed in the first wave of the attack. And Commander Nolan had been injured in an artillery strike on his way to the command center; which left Shepard in complete command of the battle until the frigate flotilla arrived.

Reports kept flying in during that time. Out of a dozen fighter pilots engaging the pirates, three had been taken down, but they had stopped three of the six drop ships. The SAMs they had been firing took out another, and, once the GARDIAN had been powered up, it took out two more, leaving the ground forces to duke it out with the last one.

_Things are going well_, Shepard thought. _All we need now is for the backup to mop up the things in space and we're safe._

"Incoming drop ship!" Serviceman Second Class Wayne shouted. "Coming in over the spaceport!"

"Get those fighters over there!" Shepard shouted. "How long until the Alliance gets here?!"

"One more minute, Lieutenant!" Chief Denning shot back.

"How many pirate ships are in orbit?" Shepard asked anyone who could answer.

"Two cruisers and two frigates," Serviceman Austin answered, as he had been watching the space scanners.

"Damn!" Shepard said, slamming her fist on the table in front of her. _Frigates and drop ships are bad enough, but cruisers?!_ Her mind started racing, trying to figure out how to take down the major threat to Elysium. "Is there anything space worthy that we can send up there?!"

"Nothing that won't get slaughtered in seconds," Chief Denning said nonchalantly.

"Then we'd better hope that one of those cruisers don't try to drop into atmosphere," Shepard said. "What's the ETA on the Alliance fleet?"

"They've just arrived, ma'am!" Serviceman Wayne said. "They're hailing us!"

"Open a comm channel!" Shepard shouted. _Thank you, God._

Almost immediately, a voice came over the comm. "This is Admiral Watsuki, contacting Elysium command. How are you holding up down there?"

"This is 1st Lieutenant Shepard, and we are glad to see you, sir," Shepard answered, with a great deal of relief in her voice.

"Lieutenant?" Admiral Watsuki said, confused. "Where's your commander?"

"General Rivera was inspecting our orbital defenses when the attack hit, and perished in the first wave," Shepard said. "Staff Commander Nolan was injured by an artillery strike on his way here, and is currently hospitalized. I've been in command since the battle started."

The comm was silent for a moment, but then Admiral Watsuki spoke again. "Well, Lieutenant, you concern yourself with surface forces, and we'll take out the space forces. After this is all over, I want to meet you in person. Is that understood, Lieutenant?"

"Completely, sir," Shepard said. "I'll have a formal greeting prepared at the spaceport when we're done."

"You have more important things to worry about than preparing a formal greeting for me, Lieutenant. Just take care of your people and the civilians. They need your attention more than I do," Admiral Watsuki said.

"Understood, sir," Shepard said.

"Good. Admiral Watsuki out," The Admiral said, closing the communication.

"All right, you heard the Admiral," Shepard said, turning her attention to the command center. "Inform all surface forces that the fleet has arrived, and to mop up what's left. And inform the ground troops to try and capture someone from that drop ship."

"Yes ma'am!" The entire command center shouted in unison, while Shepard breathed a breath of relief.

The battle ended quickly after that; nothing is a confidence boost like knowing that you won, and just need to clean up what's left. Shepard was just glad it was over, and was awaiting the arrival of Admiral Watsuki. But her task wasn't done until every ship, every tank and combat vehicle, every trooper had returned to base, and that was still a little way off. She kept concentrating on the task at hand, until she heard the sounds of boots coming up behind her.

"Admiral on deck!" Serviceman Wayne shouted, and everyone stood up and saluted Admiral Watsuki as he came into the room. Shepard spun around quickly, and snapped to attention, and quickly brought up her salute just as the Admiral brought his up.

"At ease, everyone," Admiral Watsuki said. Everyone immediately went back to their tasks as Admiral Watsuki walked up to Lieutenant Shepard.

"All right, Shepard, I want a full report on what happened here, and how you came to be in command of this battle," Admiral Watsuki said.

Shepard went into her account of the battle, justifying her decisions and hoping that the Admiral saw things as she did. As she was explaining, she watched the Admiral's face go from neutral to shock, to outright joy as Shepard finished her story.

"Well, your performance was outstanding today, Lieutenant," Admiral Watsuki said. "You went above and beyond the call of duty today, and you saved Elysium because of it."

"Thank you, sir," Shepard said, doing her best to keep her voice in a neutral tone. "But I just did what any good officer would have done."

"Don't be modest, Shepard," Admiral Watsuki said. "I saw the damage that was done in the battle, and compared to other pirate raid aftermaths I've seen, the damage was minimal. Your quick thinking and strategies saved a lot of lives, Shepard."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just got the reports from the air and ground forces," Serviceman Himura said, bringing a printout over to Shepard and the Admiral. "We haven't gotten a chance to check civilian casualties, but we only lost four aircrafts, one SAM launcher, and six ground soldiers."

"Really?" Admiral Watsuki said. "Well, Lieutenant, you did much better than most would have, if they had been put in your position." Admiral Watsuki looked at Serviceman Himura. "Serviceman, print out all the reports of the battle. The Lieutenant and I are going to see your Commander."

"Yes, sir," Serviceman Himura said, and hurriedly went back to his station.

"Why are we going to see Commander Nolan, sir? I mean, he IS currently recuperating from being hit by an artillery shell a few minutes ago," Shepard said.

"That's true. But if I were in his shoes, _I'd _want to know that someone won the battle, wouldn't you?" Admiral Watsuki asked.

"Yes, I would," Shepard said.

"Good," Admiral Watsuki said. "As soon as that Serviceman gets those reports printed up, we'll be on our way."

**A month later…**

Lt. Shepard sat in the front row of the awards ceremony that was being held for what had become known as the Skyllian Blitz. As with everyone else, she knew what the award she was going to be getting, but that still didn't make what she was getting any less shocking; Admiral Watsuki and Commander Nolan had recommended her for the Star of Terra, the highest medal a soldier could receive and not die in the line of duty. Only the Parliamentary Medal of Honor was a higher medal, and that one was normally awarded _posthumously._

Shepard was both excited to and overwhelmed that she was receiving the Star of Terra; Star of Terra recipients were heroes in every sense of the word. But Shepard felt that she just did her duty; she didn't ask for General Rivera to die, or for Commander Nolan to get injured, but she did what she had to do all the same.

It was only when her name was called and her accomplishments were being read off for the crowd that Shepard realized the gravity of what she had done, and that, had they not been taken out, the General or the Commander would have gotten the Star of Terra themselves. She listened as the master of ceremonies listed her accomplishments; taking command of the situation when a superior officer was unavailable, for directing forces to victory, for achieving victory against insurmountable odds…the list went on and on, and Shepard realized that, without her, Elysium would have been lost long before Admiral Watsuki's fleet arrived.

When the speeches were done, Lt. Shepard did a left face, and allowed Commander Nolan to pin her Star of Terra on her uniform. She then shook his hand, and then saluted, as was part of the customs and courtesies for the Alliance Military. Commander Nolan saluted Shepard back, and then turned to the crowd, and started clapping. The crowd took the hint, and immediately began applauding Lt. Shepard. Shepard did her best to keep her composure, but a small smile crept up on her face.

When the applause died down, the master of ceremonies spoke up. "This concludes today ceremonies," he said, as two servicemen came up and retrieved the colors. After that, all involved in followed the color-bearers out of the ceremony hall. It was at that moment, on her way out, that Shepard realized how big a deal this was; there was a film crew recording the proceedings. She knew, at that very moment, that she was going to be one of the most famous people in the Alliance, possibly in the galaxy.

**Glossary of terms:**

NCO-Non-Commissioned Officer. Someone who is given command of a unit, but has not had officer training.Service Chief Denning and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams are examples of NCOs.

SAM-Surface to Air Missile.


	2. Boarding the Normandy

Lt. Commander Annah Shepard stood outside Captain David Anderson's office, debating on how she was going to approach him. Her assignment paperwork gave her the usual responsibilities associated with her rank; combat officer and, on a vessel this small, XO. But it wasn't the responsibilities that made this assignment unusual; it was the ship itself. The Normandy was a frigate, as could be inferred by its name, but had a very turian feel to it. For example, Alliance ships usually place commanding officers in the middle of the room, to facilitate communication with subordinates; but the Normandy's CIC was in the back. Shepard had read that the turian preferred their COs to be over their subordinates, rather than in the middle of them, but actually looking at it seemed odd. Shepard hoped that everyone in the flight crew had combat experience, since this was not standard Alliance specifications. Shepard would find that out as she went through the personnel files of the crew members.

Another thing was the smoother exterior that the Normandy had. Most Alliance starships, especially the smaller ones, had a very blocky appearance, to help maximize space inside the vessel. And the interesting thing about rounder, smoother exterior wasn't even a standard turian design.

Shepard straightened her dress uniform, and made sure her Star of Terra, along with her other ribbons and medals, was on straight and clean. Shepard enjoyed the fact that she was a Star of Terra recipient, because in the seven years since the Blitz, she'd pretty much been able to choose her assignments. All of her commanders had been overjoyed to have Shepard on their crews; her actions during the Blitz had not only proven that Shepard could command, but strategize as well. She was an inspiration to not only her subordinates, but her superiors as well. She showed that she was everything the Alliance wanted in a soldier; she was smart, she was quick on her feet, and she could handle anything that was thrown her way.

So, when it was time for Shepard to PCS onto a new vessel, she was the perfect choice for the Normandy's XO. And being able to serve under Captain David Anderson, a soldier who was more decorated that she, was an honor she was unable to pass up.

She shared a lot in common with Captain Anderson; both were special forces officers, and both had proven themselves in battle; Shepard in the Blitz, Anderson at Shanxi. Both were considered elites, even among their Special Forces brethren. And both were pictures of what the Alliance soldier should be; smart, tough, capable, and most of all, proud.

Shepard pressed the button to page the Captain, and upon receiving confirmation, entered the room. Following military customs that were centuries old, Shepard marched up to Captain Anderson's desk, taking the most direct root, stopped right in front of him, and raised her right hand into a salute.

"Sir, Lt. Commander Shepard reports as ordered," Shepard said.

Captain Anderson returned the salute, and Shepard dropped hers. "Have a seat, Commander," Captain Anderson said. Shepard looked around, and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. Anderson got up from his desk, and sat down across from Shepard, but left his computer on.

"First, let me say that it is good to have you aboard the Normandy," Captain Anderson.

"Good to be here, Sir," Shepard answered. "I've got to say, though, that the Normandy is a little different than most frigates I've served on."

"The Normandy is _very_ different than most ships, Commander," Captain Anderson said. "It's a prototype stealth frigate, co-developed by human and turian engineers."

"Stealth frigate?" Shepard blurted out. "How is that possible?"

"Lt. Adams would have all the information on it, but the Normandy captures its emissions and stores them in heat sinks," Captain Anderson said.

Shepard immediately thought of the capabilities of a stealth frigate. "So the Normandy could revolutionize space combat the way stealth airplanes revolutionized air combat back in the late 20th," Shepard mused.

"Indeed, and that's exactly why I hand picked all members of the flight crew for this ship," Captain Anderson said. "Every member of the flight crew has real combat experience on at least a cruiser."

"That's good to know," Shepard said, most of her worries washed away. "What about my ground team?"

"I'll let you check out their records later," Captain Anderson said. "But right now, I have a few things to ask you."

Shepard sighed, knowing exactly what two questions Captain Anderson was going to ask; about any potential problems Shepard might have with batarians after the Mindoir raid, and a small oddity in her medical records. The first was irritating, but the second was depressing.

"It says in your records that you were on Mindoir during the batarian attack," Captain Anderson said. "Was that the reason you joined the Alliance?"

"Yes, it was," Shepard said. "The batarians destroyed everyone I cared about. But I dealt with my grief, and I don't want revenge against them any more that General Williams' family would want revenge against the turians after Shanxi."

"Good attitude to have, Shepard," Captain Anderson said, nodding. Shepard sighed, knowing exactly what the Captain was going to ask her next. "Now, your medical records say you 'used to be a biotic'? Care to explain?"

Shepard sighed, and shook her head. She REALLY didn't like talking about this; it reminded her how hard her biotic training had become since the raid.

"Could we get the CMO in here, so I don't have to explain this twice?" Shepard asked.

Captain Anderson nodded, and reached down to his intercom. "Doctor Chakwas, could you please come to my office?" Within a minute, Doctor Chakwas was at Captain Anderson's door, performing the same courtesies Commander Shepard had done a few minutes ago.

"At ease, Doctor, and have a seat," Captain Anderson said. The doctor took a seat to the left of Shepard, and before she could ask why she was there, Captain Anderson immediately explained.

"Doctor Chakwas, this is Commander Shepard," Captain Anderson said. "We were just about to discuss the oddity in her medical records when she requested your presence."

Doctor Chakwas thought for a moment, and upon realizing what the Captain was referring to, had a look of concern on her face.

"Well Commander, if you would," Captain Anderson said.

Shepard sighed again. Shepard never liked talking about this; it was extremely painful to think about. But, as she well knew, getting it out of the way early meant she wouldn't have to talk about it again.

"I was wired with an L3 implant when I was 16, about a month and a half before the raid," Shepard said. "The reason I was discovered so late was because while I developed eezo nodules in my nervous systems from the 2153 Kyoto transport crash, it wasn't enough to develop biotic abilities. However, we were doing some eezo experiments in my chemistry class in high school, and I got tripped and dumped a whole container of eezo dust on myself. I inhaled a lot of eezo that day, and my biotics manifested in the nurse's office. From there, my parents were alerted, and we were all notified of my choices; all the pros and cons of being wired with the new L3 implants. In the end, I chose to accept the implant, and started my training."

Shepard took a deep breath. "And then the raid happened. I had come home from school about an hour before, and I was out in the field when the attack happened. I saw a batarian drop ship fire its missiles, causing a huge explosion in the town center, and then I started running back to the house.

By the time I got back to the house, a couple of batarians were threatening my parents, just outside the house. I…channeled my biotics and lifted the batarians high off the ground. Problem was, I also lifted my parents. I watched, in shock and horror, as my parents flew high into the air, and…" Shepard said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Slam hard on the ground."

Shepard wiped the tears from her eyes, and continued. "I walked up to their mangled bodies and just dropped to my knees when I saw that they were dead. I was in complete shock for a few minutes; I had just killed my parents while attempting to save them. I didn't even notice that time had passed until an Alliance marine came and got me to safety. But after that day, I couldn't lift anything heavier than a coffee cup."

"All the doctors I've seen in the past 13 years told me that there's no physical reason for me to not be able to use my biotics," Shepard said, once again tearing up. "And all the psychiatrists I've seen tell me that I subconsciously blame my biotics for the death of my parents."

Captain Anderson and Doctor Chakwas sat there, in complete silence. Neither one knew what to say, what Shepard was going through.

"I've tried off and on to regain my abilities, but I never achieve anything," Shepard said. "Meditation, therapy…I even tried studying the training methods of different species, trying to learn something that would give me back my biotics, but I've never achieved anything."

"Well, you have my condolences, Commander," Doctor Chakwas said, and then turned her attention back to Captain Anderson. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Not at the moment, unless Commander Shepard has anything to say to you," Captain Anderson said.

"Only that I'd appreciate you two keeping this a secret," Shepard said. "I really don't like people bugging me about this, you know?"

"Understood, Commander," Doctor Chakwas said. She then stood, saluted Captain Anderson, and left the room to return to her duties.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up, Shepard," Captain Anderson said. "I didn't know it would be that painful."

"You wouldn't be doing your job if you don't know your XO," Shepard said, finally calming down. "And I was a lot more composed when I told that story at the enlistment office 11 years ago. And hey, if you need an expert on alien biotics, I'm your woman."

Captain Anderson nodded, and closed down Shepard's files. "Well, I'm sure you'd like the tour of the ship now," he said.

"Yes I would, sir," Shepard said, as they stood up.

The tour of the Normandy took about fifteen minutes, and Shepard met all the important crew members. Staff Lieutenant Adams was the chief engineer of the Normandy, and explained how the Normandy was able to maintain stealth in space and explained about the Tantalus Drive Core worked. And, while Shepard didn't understand everything Adams told her, she knew enough how to inform others the basics of how it worked.

Shepard also met 1st Lieutenant Pressley, the Normandy's navigator. After a moment's conversation, she learned that he was on one of the frigates that she called for on Elysium. _I'm going to want to talk to him when I get the chance,_ Shepard thought, as they moved toward the flight deck.

Once at the flight deck, they met Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau; one of the best pilots in the Alliance fleet. One of the first things Shepard noticed on Joker was a set of leg braces when he turned his chair around. She would have asked him about them, but she remembered that she would have access to his personnel files momentarily. _At least I don't have to embarrass him the way my commanders have to embarrass me._

Finally, Anderson and Shepard made their way back into Anderson's office, and Shepard asked the obvious question.

"Since the Normandy is a brand new vessel, I figure our first mission should be a shakedown run," Shepard asked. "Where are we headed?"

"Eden Prime," Anderson said. "After that, we are slated to joinRear Admiral Mikhailovich's scout flotilla."

Shepard nodded, and allowed Captain Anderson to continue.

"For now, why don't you take a look at the personnel files of the crew members while I go talk to Lt. Pressley?" He said.

"Will do, sir," Shepard said, and then entered Captain Anderson's office.

Shepard found out a lot about the Normandy's crew members during the time Captain Anderson spoke to Pressley. She found out that Pressley was stationed on the SSV Agincourt at the time of the Blitz, and got his officer's commission shortly after. She learned that Lt. Adams had been stationed on every class of ship the Alliance had; from dreadnaughts down to frigates. If anybody knew about the way an Alliance ship worked, it would be Adams.

Shepard then looked at the files on Joker. Lt. Moreau, or Joker as he was affectionately called, grew up on the Arcturus station when humanity was building up their fleet. When he was 18, he enlisted in the Alliance flight school. Shepard saw that Joker graduated with perfect scores on everything; something no other Alliance soldier had ever done before. From there, Joker became one of the best pilots the Alliance had ever had. Joker had flown many combat missions in fighters, frigates and cruisers, and he had excelled in everything he did. The only black mark on his records was that he had Vrolik Syndrome, or brittle bones disease. His condition was a moderate-to-severe case, which restricted him from doing any job where he would have to run; Joker could never be a marine, but he could fly just fine.

Shepard then checked on her combat team, and unfortunately, only one of them had any combat experience; Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. The interesting thing Shepard saw about Lt. Alenko is that he was an L2 biotic, and one of the few BAaT graduates before BAaT was shut down in 2169. Lt. Alenko was also one of the "lucky" L2 biotics; he only got heavy migraines, instead of the crippling brain damage that some L2s exhibited. _I __**might**__ tell him about my past, if I feel up to it._

The only other interesting crew member Shepard could see was Corporal Richard L. Jenkins, but only because he was from Eden Prime. Cpl. Jenkins grew up in farm country, like Shepard, but unlike Shepard, he did not experience tragedy before he enlisted. Cpl. Jenkins simply enlisted because he felt the farmer life just wasn't for him. _That might have been me, if it hadn't been for the raid. I never did like farm work._ Shepard thought. Other than that, Jenkins' career was mundane; no combat experience except for training exercises.

When Shepard was done reviewing the files of her crew members, she exited Captain Anderson's office, and went to find Captain Anderson. She found him in the mess hall, talking with a turian she didn't recognize. Anderson saw her, and immediately went about introducing the turian.

"Commander Shepard, this is Nihlus Kryik, a Spectre," Captain Anderson said.

Nihlus extended his hand, and Shepard took it. _What is a Spectre doing on an Alliance frigate?_ Shepard thought, as she shook Nihlus' hand.

"Nihlus is here to observe the Normandy's shakedown run," Captain Anderson said. "Among other things."

Shepard nodded, but still remained suspicious. Spectres didn't observe shakedown runs; they only got involved with something if it threatened galactic stability. There was more going on than Shepard was being told, and she didn't like it. Still, she was a military woman to the core, and she did what she was told. She would get her chance to question Captain Anderson as to what was really going on, but not right now.

"It's good to meet you, Commander Shepard," Nihlus said, ending the handshake.

"Likewise," Shepard said, and then turned to Captain Anderson. "If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of before the Normandy takes off."

Captain Anderson nodded, and Shepard headed down to the Normandy's armory, so she could inspect the weapons and armor she would be using during this assignment.

After inspecting the weapons, Shepard decided to do a briefing with her ground team. She gathered Lt. Alenko, Corporal Jenkins, Private Fredricks, and Private Tetsu Kayama into the mess hall. Once everyone was sitting down, Shepard started pacing around the table, deciding which "Star of Terra recipient" speech she was going to use this time.

"You all know who I am," Shepard said. "Or, at least my reputation. How I singlehandedly saved Elysium. How I fought off batarian slavers for hours while until the Alliance reinforcements arrived. How I rallied the civilian inhabitants and led them to victory.

Well, I'm sorry to say that the reality of the situation is not what the legends about me say. First off, since Elysium is one of our largest colonies, it had very good defenses; aircraft defenses, SAMs, GARDIAN defense lasers, tanks, AA guns, and an entire base of marines. We could defend ourselves, but not for long against a large enough force. Unfortunately, the batarian fleet was large enough to overwhelm Elysium. They had 8 frigates and 2 cruisers.

Now, the reason I got my Star of Terra is because of what happened to my superiors. The base commander had been inspecting the orbital defenses, and was killed in the first volley. My commander was injured in the first minute of the battle. I took command of the entire planet's defenses, since I was the highest ranking individual active.

All I did was command the battle. And I didn't defend Elysium for hours; I defended it for 8 minutes. It felt like several hours for all involved, but we only fought for 8 minutes." Shepard said. She cleared her throat, and sat down at the at the mess table. "I got my Star of Terra because I went above and beyond the call of duty; duties far beyond the responsibilities of a 1st Lieutenant. However, if it wasn't for the soldiers I was commanding, no one would have won any medals.

Which brings me to you. No matter how good I am at what I do, I am nothing without the people under my command. I need all of you in order to succeed in our missions.

Now, I want to discuss your training and experience. Private Fredricks, Private Kayama, your files only show technical scores and a prior planetary garrison assignment, which leads me to believe that neither of you has seen real combat, correct?" Shepard said.

"No ma'am," Fredricks and Kayama said in unison.

"Well, you just do what you are trained to do, and you'll do just fine," Shepard said. "Follow my orders, but show initiative. And if I do anything that you don't understand or agree with, respectfully question me. Only an idiot believes they are perfect, and usually get killed real quickly.

Now, Corporal Jenkins, your files say that you were a squad leader in basic and combat training, right?" Shepard said.

"Yes ma'am," Jenkins said, with a little pride in his voice.

"Well let me tell you something Jenkins; squad leads in basic and combat training usually feel the need to prove themselves once they get their first assignment," Shepard said, glaring slightly at Jenkins. "You need to leave that attitude at the airlock, because it can get you and your unit killed."

Jenkins, who had been staring at Commander Shepard with wide eyes from her harsh words, was only able to stammer out a "Yes, ma'am."

Shepard sighed. She wanted to stop Jenkins from doing something stupid on the battlefield so he could make a name for himself, but she didn't want crush his spirit. "Look Jenkins, dead marines do no one any good. Losing you would not only remove a potential resource in battle, but as a person as well. Your training makes you useful as a marine, but your mind and soul make you useful as a person. Do you understand?"

"I do, ma'am," Jenkins said. "I promise you I won't do anything that will get us all killed."

"Good," Shepard said, and then turned her attention to Alenko. "Lieutenant, there's really not much I need to say to you. You've seen combat, and know what to expect." She turned her attention back to the entire group. "The rest of you, think about what I've said. For now, you've got pre-liftoff duties to take care of. You're dismissed."

As the combat team got up and headed their separate ways, Shepard noticed that Nihlus was standing just out of sight of the table when Shepard was sitting.

"Was there something you wanted, Spectre?" Shepard asked dryly.

"I'm just observing, Commander," Nihlus said.

Shepard glared slightly at Nihlus. "It's pretty obvious that you're not here to observe the Normandy's shakedown run," Shepard said. "What are you really here for?"

Nihlus did what appeared to be a smile, though it was hard to tell on the beak-like mouth of a turian. "As your Captain said, I am here to observe things," Nihlus said.

Shepard just grumbled. "Look Nihlus, I don't know a lot about the Spectres," She said. "In fact, I know about as much as the average civilian. But I do know that Spectres only get involved when something is going on that threatens galactic stability. So, I figure that either the Normandy's shakedown run is more than just that, or you're here for some reason you're not telling us."

Once again, Nihlus did what appeared to be a smile. "You're more right than you realize, Shepard," Nihlus said. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you more…until the time is right."

Shepard grumbled at Nihlus' words. "Does Captain Anderson know the real reason you're here?"

"He does," Nihlus said. "But only because he needs to know."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Need to know" always was, and always would be, an irritating phrase. And, while it had its time and place, that phrase had never once benefited her when she led combat teams.

Nihlus once again did what appeared to be a smile. "You'll find out soon enough, Commander. For now, I am going to go talk to the pilot."

As Nihlus left, Shepard looked down at her uniform; specifically her Star of Terra. _I hate being left in the dark,_ she thought, as she smoothed out the wrinkles on her uniform. _And what did he mean by "I'll find out soon enough?" _Shepard didn't know, but she aimed to find out. She only hoped she'd have a chance to find out before something bad happened.

**Glossary of terms:**

PCS- Permanent Change of Station. This happens when a soldier, sailor, airman or marine is assigned to a new base, post, or ship.

CO- Commanding Officer. The officer who is in charge of a unit. Admiral Kohoku, Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Captain Anderson, and Lt. Commander Shepard are all COs.

CMO-Chief Medical Officer. Basically, the doctor who is in charge of the medical unit. On the Normandy, the CMO and only member of the medical unit is Doctor Chakwas. As a special note, to hold the title of "Doctor" in the military, the individual needs to be an officer. Enlisted people are called "med techs", and have the responsibilities of a nurse.

Need to know- In addition to a security clearance, an individual has to have a reason to have access to certain information. For example, if I had Top Secret clearance, I could theoretically be allowed access to troop movements across the world. But, since I wouldn't need to know this information to perform my duties, I would be denied that information on the basis that I didn't need to know it.


	3. Death of a Soldier

Two hours later, Shepard felt the Normandy's engines fire up, indicating that the ship was taking off. _Better get up to the cockpit._ Shepard thought, as she made her way from the armory to the bridge. She made her way up the stairs to the CIC, past Doctor Chakwas, lightly brushing aside Cpl. Jenkins, past Lt. Pressley as he nodded at her, and up to the cockpit as Joker continued to announce the figures and procedures needed for take off and transit through a mass relay. Shepard once again saw Nihlus, still wearing his Serrice Council Phantom type armor.

As Shepard got up to the cockpit, she passed a comm officer. The comm officer saluted Shepard, and she quickly returned the salute as she entered the cockpit. She saw the ship enter the mass relay just as she got up to the viewport.

"Thrusters: check. Navigation: Check," Joker said, going over the checklist needed for every takeoff. "Internal emission sync engaged. All systems: Online. Drift: just under 1500k."

"1500 is good," Nihlus said. "Your Captain will be pleased." And with that, Nihlus did an about face and headed away from the cockpit.

"I hate that guy," Joker said, when he was sure Nihlus was out of earshot.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment," Lt. Alenko said, rolling his eyes. "So, you hate him."

"Remember to zip up your jumpsuit the way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible," Joker said as Shepard stepped forward. She stood at parade rest as Joker continued. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him aboard. Call me paranoid."

_Not as paranoid as you think, Joker_, Shepard thought, but continued to stare out the viewport.

"You're paranoid," Lt. Alenko shot back. "The Council helped fund this project, and they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

Shepard just rolled her eyes, but was beat to the punch by Joker.

"That IS the official story," Joker said. "But only an idiot believes the official story."

"Joker's right," Shepard said. "Spectres only get involved when something big is going on. They don't send them on shakedown runs."

"So there's more going on that meets the ey.." Joker said before the comm chirped.

"Joker, status report," Captain Anderson said over the comm.

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain," Joker said, immediately dropping the casual conversation and bringing his mind back to his duties. "Stealth systems are engaged, everything looks solid."

"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network," Captain Anderson said through the comm unit. "I want mission reports related back to Alliance brass _before_ we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye aye, Captain," Joker said, punching in the keys needed to follow his orders. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," Captain Anderson snapped at Joker. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." Captain Anderson closed the comm channel after that.

"You got that, Commander?" Joker asked.

"I got it," Shepard answered. "Something must have upset him if snapped at you like that."

Joker snickered. "Captain always sounds like that when he's talking to me."

Alenko just grinned. "Can't _possibly_ imagine why."

Shepard once again made her way back toward the comm room, passing Lt. Pressley, and caught the tail end of a conversation between Cpl Jenkins and Dr. Chakwas, before entering the comm room. Once inside, Shepard wasn't surprised to find Nihlus.

"Commander Shepard," Nihlus said, turning around when he heard her footsteps. "I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

"Does that mean you're finally going to tell me why you're really here?" Shepard said. "Or are you going to continue to leave me in the dark?"

"Tell me what you know about Eden Prime," Nihlus said, ignoring Shepard's question. "I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"Eden Prime was one of the first human colonies established beyond the Charon relay," Shepard said, reciting some of the information she knew about it. "It was named after the biblical 'Garden of Eden', the tranquil and serene paradise where God created humanity. **Eden Prime**'s biosphere is unusually well-suited for importation of Earth-native life, so we brought a lot of plants and animals with us when we colonized it. Unfortunately, it's right on the borders of the Terminus Systems, though we didn't know that when we colonized it."

"Tranquil and serene," Nihlus said. "And, even with its borders near the Terminus systems, safe. It's something of a symbol to your people. Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But, how truly safe is it?" Nihlus turned away from Shepard just as he finished saying that.

_Actually that distinction belongs to Elysium._ Shepard thought. _Can't fault the guy for getting his facts wrong, though; Eden Prime __**was**__ our first extra solar colony. _ However, she **was** really getting irritated at Nihlus' secrecy. "Do you know something, Spectre?" She said, taking a step toward Nihlus.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard," Nihlus said, turning around to face Shepard. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance _truly_ ready for this?"

"I think it's time for you to come clean with me, Nihlus," Shepard said. "You've been dancing around something all day, and I want to know what it is."

At that moment, Captain Anderson walked into the comm room. "Shepard's right. It's time for her to know what's really going on."

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run," Nihlus said, in an attempt at a dramatic reveal.

"I hate to burst your bubble Nihlus, but all but the least observant crew members figured that out already," Shepard said. "After all, Spectres don't get involved unless something big is going on."

"We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational," Captain Anderson said.

"What's the payload, Captain?" Shepard asked.

"A research team unearthed some kind of…beacon, during an expedition," Captain Anderson answered. "It was Prothean."

_Prothean? Most of our modern technology is based on Prothean tech._ Shepard thought. "What are the details?"

"Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle researching Prothean technology," Captain Anderson said. "The Citadel does, so we need to bring it back there for proper study."

"Wouldn't we have those kind of facilities back on Earth? Or Arcturus?" Shepard asked.

"This goes beyond mere human interests, Shepard. This discovery could affect every species in Council space," Nihlus said.

"And the Terminus Systems as well," Shepard said under her breath.

Nihlus nodded.

"So that's why you're here. Because you're expecting trouble from the Terminus," Shepard said.

"I'm always expecting trouble," Nihlus said. "But the beacon isn't the only reason I'm here. You are."

"Me? What have I done?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Relax, Commander," Anderson said. "He's here to evaluate you."

"Well, that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around," Shepard said, slightly calmer. "But what is he…" Shepard trailed off for a moment, before realization dawned on her. "I'm a Spectre candidate?"

Anderson nodded. "The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time," He said. "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. If they accept a human into the Spectre ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single-handedly. You showed not only courage, but incredible skill," Nihlus said. "That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres."

"_You_ put my name forward?" Shepard blurted out, but quickly composed herself. _Easy Annah. A lot of people tried to instill a hatred of turians in you over the years, but they reacted to Shanxi like I would react to a child holding a gun. Granted, they over-reacted, but they __**are**__ a militaristic culture._ "Just tell me what I need to do."

Nihlus nodded. "I've seen a lot of your capabilities just on this ship," He said. "But I need to see how you do on the battlefield. This will be the first of many missions together."

Shepard looked over at Captain Anderson. "Does this mean you're going to need someone else as your XO?" She asked.

"Only once you are accepted as a Spectre," Anderson said. "For now, you'll be in charge of the ground team, as stated in your assignment. Secure the beacon, and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"I'm ready any time, sir," Shepard said.

"We should be getting close to Eden…" Anderson said, before being cut off by the radio.

"Captain!" Joker shouted. "We just got a transmission from Eden Prime!"

"Put it on screen," Anderson said. And, within a second, it was onscreen.

Once the image was on the screen, Shepard watched as marines fought a losing battle. In the far right of the screen, an explosion hit as a female marine dashed forward, and yelled, "Get down!" at the camera man. The camera dropped, and panned up to show that marine stop dead in her tracks, and start firing her assault rifle. Another explosion rocked the screen, and suddenly the cameraman appeared in front of the camera, and started barking out a distress message. It had the usual points in the message; under attack, heavy casualties, need evac…the usual things that came with a pirate raid. What was unusual was what they saw next; the cameraman turned the camera around, and showed what appeared to be a large mechanical cephalopod floating down to the planet's surface. And that's when the camera cut out.

"Everything cuts out after that," Joker said over the comm. "No comm traffic at all. It just goes dead."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Captain Anderson said. Joker complied, and they once again saw the mechanical cephalopod. Anderson, Nihlus and Shepard all stared at the screen for a moment, when Anderson finally broke the tension. "Status report!"

"17 minutes out, Captain, no other Alliance ships in the area," Joker replied.

Anderson sighed. "Take us in Joker, fast and quiet," He said. "Things just got a lot more complicated."

_I'll say, _Shepard thought. _Looks like Terminus beat us to it._

"A small strike team can move quickly," Nihlus added. "Without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon."

"Shepard, tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up and meet us in the cargo hold," Anderson said. "You're going in."

Shepard nodded, noting that the Captain only wanted those that had proven their capabilities in this situation. And while Jenkins didn't have any combat experience, he did have the most training out of the untrained team members. "Alenko, Jenkins, get down the armory, and suit up. We just got a distress call." Shepard said into her radio over the combat team frequency. "And just Jenkins and Alenko, understand?"

Shepard got confirmation in her earpiece, and made her way down to the armory. She reached the elevator just as Jenkins had, and a few seconds later, Alenko appeared behind them. They entered the elevator, and almost immediately after the door closed, Shepard began her briefing.

"We've just gotten a distress call from Eden Prime," Shepard said. "We don't know who is attacking, but we do know why; some excavators just dug up a Prothean beacon."

"That thing's got to be over 50,000 years old!" Jenkins said. "Does it even work?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Shepard said. "That's not really our concern right now. Our job is to get that beacon on the Normandy and push back whoever is attacking," Shepard looked directly at Jenkins. "Looks like you'll get your chance to prove yourself after all."

"Commander…I…" Jenkins started, before being interrupted by Shepard.

"Don't," Shepard said, raising her hand in front of Jenkins' face. "I'm special forces, Jenkins. I know all about that feeling. But once you've seen dead marines and dead civilians, that feeling dies really quickly."

Once the elevator reached the bottom, Shepard and Alenko burst into the armory, and immediately started stripping off their dress uniforms. Jenkins just stood there for a moment from the harshness of Shepard's words. Shepard noticed this, and shouted his name. "Don't space out on me, soldier," she said. Jenkins nodded, and slowly made his way into the room.

They quickly got on their armor and strapped their weapons into place. Alenko wore the light Aldrin Labs Onyx Armor, which allowed him the freedom of movement for his engineer duties, while Jenkins wore medium type of the same brand. Only Shepard wore heavy armor, but even that had some special differences. First off, her armor had the N7 logo on the upper right of her chest. It also had the blood stripe along her right arm. The helmet also had the blood stripe in the center. Shepard always thought about the symbolism of that blood stripe every time she put on her armor. _The blood I've got to shed in order to protect humanity and the Alliance is firmly on my hands and head._

"Is everyone ready?" Shepard said, doing the final checks on her armor.

"Yes ma'am," Alenko and Jenkins said simultaneously.

"Then let's move," Shepard said.

During the ride down the elevator, the ground team pressed the buttons that slid their helmets out of their armor and on to their heads, and started mentally preparing for the battles ahead. "One more thing," Shepard said, just before the elevator opened. "Nihlus is joining the op, but he's taking a different route." Once they got down to the cargo hold, they were met by Captain Anderson and Nihlus.

"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander," Anderson said. "Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site."

"What about survivors, Captain?" Alenko asked.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective, Lieutenant," Anderson said. "The beacon's your first priority!"

"Approaching drop point 1," Joker said over the comm. The cargo hold opened at that moment, revealing Nihlus doing some checks on his shotgun. They watched him jump out of the Normandy, and into the first drop zone.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead," Captain Anderson said once Nihlus was off the ship, and the Normandy was moving again. "He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission. Otherwise, I want radio silence."

"We've got his back, Captain," Shepard said confidently.

Just as Shepard said this, the Normandy's cargo hold reopened. "The mission's yours now, Shepard! Good Luck!"

Shepard nodded, and made her way out of the Normandy.

A second later, Shepard and her ground team had touched down on Eden Prime, and they had their weapons drawn immediately.

"Ship perimeter is secure, Commander," Alenko said.

"Then let's move out," Shepard said. She looked over at Jenkins. "And stay close. We don't know what we're up against."

The squad drew their rifles, and slowly made their way toward the bend, when their helmet radios chirped. It was Nihlus, giving them an update on what he saw. "This place got hit hard, Commander. Hostiles could be everywhere."

"Understood, Nihlus," Shepard answered. "We'll be careful."

They continued making their way toward the dig site, Lt. Alenko noticing some odd jellyfish-like creature near a small pond near them. Cpl. Jenkins said that the called them "gas bags", and that they were harmless. Shepard just shook her head, feeling like she was the only one who understood the gravity of the situation.

"Secure the chatter, marines," Shepard said. "And pay attention to your surroundings."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jenkins immediately shot out, as they made their way to large rock.

Shepard crouched herself down against the rock, and raised her left fist, indicating for her squad to stop. She moved her rifle slightly forward, allowing the rifle camera to view the area beyond cover. When Shepard saw that things were clear, she extended her index and ring fingers, indicating that she was ordering squad member two, and motioned for him move forward and take cover.

She instantly regretted sending Jenkins first, because he was paying more attention to following Shepard's order than his surroundings. If he had been, he would have noticed something that Shepard's camera gun showed her; three recon drones flying into the clearing.

Shepard watched in horror as the drones opened fire on Jenkins. Between the three drones, they put enough rounds into Jenkins to rip right through his kinetic shields, his armor, and into his flesh.

Shepard immediately went into her combat officer mindset. She looked at Lt. Alenko, and he nodded, activating his omni tool, and launched an overheat tech mine at the drones. The mine exploded when it landed on one of the drones, knocking out their weapons.

Once she was sure the drones couldn't shoot back, Shepard dashed out from cover, assault rifle in hand, and with three precise sprays, brought down the drones quickly.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough to save Jenkins. A quick scan with Alenko's omni tool only confirmed what Shepard realized when he darted out; Jenkins was dead.

"It ripped right through his shields," Alenko said, kneeling down to close Jenkins' eyes and mouth. "He never had a chance."

_Dammit,_ Shepard thought, as she stared down at Jenkins' body. _ He took my words to the extreme, and followed my orders to the letter._

"We'll see that he receives a proper service once the mission is complete," Shepard said, focusing her attention at Alenko. "For now, field-strip the corpse. We might need the gear."

"Aye, aye, ma'am," Alenko said, kneeling down and removing the extra ammo clips, grenades and medigel.

Once Alenko was finished, their helmet radios chirped again. "Lots of burned out buildings here, Shepard," Nihlus said. "Lot of bodies. I'm going to check it out. I'll try to meet you at the dig site."

"Understood, Nihlus," Shepard said. "We'll meet you there." She then turned her attention to Alenko. "Stay frosty, Alenko. We've still got a job to do."

Shepard and Alenko continued to make their way toward the dig site, moving from cover to cover, taking down any drones they came across. And, while Shepard was saddened by Jenkins' death, she was, in a way, relieved that she didn't have to babysit him. And, while being one of the best combat trainers that her superiors had ever seen, she hated doing it. She preferred combat veterans to fresh boot graduates, but she knew that there weren't enough ships out there for everyone to get some real combat experience, and not all colonial garrisons got a chance to defend their colonies. And that's why Shepard had one of the most extensive, and some times harshest, training plans for her units. _It's too bad Jenkins didn't have the chance to go through it, because he'd have never done this again._

Shepard and Alenko eventually got to a clearing, with a large rock in the upper right corner. Using her gun camera, Shepard watched as a female marine wearing a Sirta Foundation Phoenix brand heavy armor run toward the rock, and get hit in the back with two shots from a pair of drones. The marine grabbed her pistol off her armor, dove on to the ground, spun around just before landing so she slid on her back, and placed two accurate shots into the eyepiece of the drone. Shepard watched as the marine slowly stood, pausing for a moment, and then immediately turn around and run for cover behind the rock, pulling her assault rifle off her back, and readied herself for a fight.

Shepard swept her gun around, to get a better view of the clearing, and saw what the marine paused on. "Synthetics," Shepard said. "Alenko, take cover next to the pinned down marine, and then toss a flash bang." _I hope we can blind those bastards with a flash bang._

Alenko blurted out his confirmation, and immediately started darting out into the clearing. Unlike Jenkins, however, kept his rifle at ready as he ran. _This is why I prefer experienced soldiers to trained soldiers._ Shepard thought, as she heard the flash bang explode. From there, Shepard dashed out, and slid down to the rock formation to the left of the clearing, lobbing a grenade as she slid, into the cluster of synthetics. The grenade exploded as Shepard got herself oriented, and took the feet right out from the synthetics. Shepard once again moved her gun from cover, allowing her gun camera to observe the battlefield. Her gun camera showed her that, though the synthetics had no way to stand, the synthetics were still combat capable. Shepard moved out from her cover and sprayed at the synthetics, taking them out completely. Shepard returned to cover, once again scanning the area with her gun camera, and when she found nothing, came out from cover and checked on the marine.

"Thanks for your help, Commander," the marine said, noticing Shepard's rank insignia. "I didn't think I was going to make it." The marine slid her rifle back on to its place on her back, and checked herself for injuries. When she saw that she was fine, she decided to introduce herself. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, ma'am?"

"I am. I'm Lt. Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy," Shepard said. "Are you wounded, Chief?"

"A few scrapes and burns, nothing serious," Williams answered. "The others weren't so lucky." Williams shook her had, running through her memories of recent events. "Oh, man. We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call, but they jammed out communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"What happened to your squad?" Shepard asked.

"Dead, most likely," Williams said. "We tried to double back to the beacon, but we walked into an ambush."

"Don't blame yourself, Williams," Shepard said. "You couldn't have done anything to save them."

"Yes, ma'am," Williams said halfheartedly. Shepard could tell that this young woman was not ready for this kind of thing. _But neither was I when Elysium was attacked._

Williams continued. "We held our position as long as we could. Until the geth overwhelmed us."

"Geth?" Alenko said. "But, they haven't been seen outside the Veil in over 200 years. Why are they here now?"

"Apparently they're as interested in the Prothean beacon as we are," Shepard said. She then turned her attention to Williams. "You fit to fight, Williams?"

"Yes ma'am!" Williams said. "The dig site is just over that rise." Williams pointed in the direction Shepard and Alenko had been going. "It might still be there."

"Then let's move out!" Shepard said. "Williams, you're in position 2."

Williams nodded, and fell in behind Shepard, once again, drawing the rifle off her back.

The short trek to the dig site was relatively uneventful, with only one short skirmish with the geth. Shepard was surprised with Chief Williams; while she was a little skittish, she showed the two qualities that Jenkins' lacked; attention to her surroundings and initiative. _She just lost her unit, so I can forgive her being a little shaken up._

The squad got to the dig site, only to find it empty. Williams, however, was very surprised at this. "The beacon was right here! It must have been moved!"

"By our side? Or the geth?" Alenko mused.

"Hard to say," Williams said. "Maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp."

"I hope someone came out of here alive," Shepard said. "Dead civilians aren't exactly high on my list of things I want to see."

"Maybe somebody might be hiding up at the research camp," Williams said. "It's not far. Up the path behind me."

"Then let's move," Shepard said.

As they started moving, Shepard got another chirp on her headset radio. "Change of plans, Shepard. There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll meet you there."

"Affirmative," Shepard responded. "We're on out way."

"Another member of your team?" Williams asked.

"So to speak," Alenko said. "That was Nihlus, a Spectre. He's here to help us retrieve the beacon."

"Secure the chatter, marines," Shepard said. "We've still got a job to do."

"Understood Commander," Williams and Alenko said in unison.

Once the camp cane in view, they knew a battle had taken place there as well. There was a fire, and a downed pillar. Also, there were these huge spikes with what appeared to be a technorganic version of a dried out human body.

Once the squad got over the hill, the spikes started lowering. And once the spikes retracted completely, the husk slid off the base, and onto its feet.

"Oh, God! They're still alive!" Alenko shouted.

"What did the geth do to them?!" Williams said.

"Doesn't matter what the geth did to them right now," Shepard said, as one of the husks started running toward them. "Because they're hostile!"

The squad dove being the rock barrier for cover, and Shepard watched at Williams' mind went into combat mode. Shepard saw that Williams took a grenade off her belt, and using her own gun camera to aim, threw the grenade right into the middle of the husk group. Once the grenade exploded, she noticed Alenko channel his biotics. When Alenko was prepared, he moved out from cover and used his left hand to push the husks. Shepard raised her gun camera out from cover, and, noticing that the husks were on the ground, immediately came up from cover and opened fire. Alenko and Williams followed suit, and they took down the husks in short order.

After once again returning to cover and scanning the battlefield for additional hostiles with their gun cameras, the squad got out from cover and decided to investigate the buildings for survivors. One of the doors was locked, but with Alenko's engineer training, he was able to crack the lock, allowing the group entrance. They were immediately greeted by two humans; a middle aged woman, and a middle aged man.

"Soldiers! Thank the maker!" The woman shouted.

"Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!" The man added.

Shepard looked over the man and woman. They both appeared to be wearing what appeared to be field clothes for scientists, and both had a few cuts and scrapes. They were both scared, but the man looked…odd. "Don't worry, we'll protect you," She said.

"Thank you, I think we'll be okay now," The woman said, finally calming down. "It looks like everyone's gone."

"You're Doctor Warren," Williams said. "The one in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?"

"It was moved to the space port shortly after you went out on patrol," Dr. Warren said. "Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp. When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide." Dr. Warren sighed. "They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved!" Manuel said. "The age of humanity is ended! Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain!"

_Okay, he's losing it,_ Shepard thought. "We need to secure the beacon. Will you be alright here?"

"Ye…yes, we should be all right, now that you've killed those….things," Dr. Warren said.

"Good. Well have someone retrieve you when we're done," Shepard said. "For now, Williams, take us to the spaceport."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Williams said, motioning toward the direction where they needed to go.

Just as the squad made their way around the corner, they heard a gunshot. They immediately started running, just reaching the spaceport as a gigantic mechanical cephalopod rose into the sky. The squad stood in awe for a moment; that...ship was the best word Shepard could think of for it…was larger than any dreadnaught the Alliance had. _That thing's got to have the most powerful mass effect drive in the galaxy to land in atmosphere!_

The squad was snapped out of their reverie by bullets flying past their heads; bullets fired by the weapons of geth troopers. The squad immediately ran for cover, and Shepard grabbed her sniper rifle. "Alenko! Scan the battlefield and send the data to Williams' and my helmets!"

Alenko nodded, and immediately pulled his assault rifle off his back and, using the standard Alliance video channel, and transmitted the data real time to Williams' and Shepard's helmets. With this video feed, Shepard saw that there were only 2 geth, but three husks. "Alenko! Williams! Take down those husks, and I'll get the geth!"

Both clicked out a confirmation on their radios, and Shepard popped out from cover, and took careful aim at what she knew to be a container of element zero fuel. Waiting for the geth troopers, Shepard took careful aim at the container, and when the geth wandered into the container's explosive range, Shepard fired, taking out the legs of the geth. She dropped back behind cover, and removed her assault rifle. She then used her gun camera to scan the battlefield once again; the 2 of the husks were down, and neither geth trooper was moving. Shepard once again popped out from cover, and sprayed at the geth, to ensure they were dead as Alenko used his biotics to lift the last husk into the air. Shepard dropped the second geth just as Williams shot the last husk with her sniper rifle. All three dropped back behind cover, and scanned the battlefield with their gun cameras. "Looks clear, Commander," Alenko said.

"Good," Shepard said, moving away from the rock that had been her cover. "Let's check on that building over there; see if there are any survivors."

"Aye aye, Commander," Alenko said.

Once again, the door was locked; which told Shepard there were people in there. Shepard once again ordered Alenko to unlock the door. Once the door was open, three humans walked out; two men and one woman.

"Everybody stay calm out there!" The first man who walked out said. "We're not armed!"

"Is it safe? Are they gone?" The woman asked.

"We took care of them," Shepard said, her assault rifle still at the ready in case any geth appeared while they were talking.

"Those things were crawling all around the shed," The spokesman of the group said. "They would have found us for sure. We owe you our lives."

The woman sighed nervously. "I still can't believe it. When we saw that ship…" She said, trailing off.

"It showed up right before the attack," The spokesman said. "When we saw it, we made a break to the sheds."

"What else can you tell me about the ship you saw?" Shepard asked; while she knew that they were afraid, she knew that the civilians were the only source of information now that the marines were dead.

"We were too busy running to get a clear look at it," The spokesman said. "I think it landed over near the spaceport."

_That doesn't help much,_ Shepard thought. _Since the damn thing is gone now_.

"Tell them about the noise Cole," the woman said. "That awful noise!"

"What noise?" Williams asked. "I didn't hear any noise."

"You must have been indoors when it happened," the spokesman, Cole, said. "But it was emitting some kind of signal as it descended. It sounded like the…the shriek of the damned! Only…it was coming from inside your own head…"

"It was probably trying to block communications," Shepard said. "Standard procedure in any kind of attack; make sure any reinforcements arrive too late."

"Whatever it was, it felt like it was tearing right through my skull," Cole said. "Almost made it impossible to think."

"Well, that's odd," Alenko said. "Jamming signals only affect machinery that way."

"We don't know anything about geth technology, Alenko," Shepard said. "They might have developed something that can affect organics that way."

Williams shuddered at the thought. "I hope you're wrong, Commander."

"So am I," Shepard said under her breath.

"We need to move on," Shepard said, directing her attention back to the civilians.

"Good luck," Cole said, as Shepard and her team moved on to the space port tram.

**Glossary of terms:**

Parade rest- A stance halfway between at ease and attention. Feet are shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and arms positioned behind the back, left hand positioned inside the right, hands forming an X, with the fingers held straight. Thumbs are held parallel to the fingers.

Gun camera-At the time I wrote this, the gun camera was a prototype technology. It is essentially camera built into the rifle. It will allow a soldier to view the battlefield from cover without having to expose their head. The wielder of the weapon views the camera's view on a pair of goggles. Currently, the camera's view only goes in one direction, but by the end of the 22nd century, the technology should advance to the point where the lens can rotate.


	4. The Beacon

As Shepard and her squad made their way up the stairs, Alenko immediately recognized one of the bodies; the body of Nihlus. As they dropped down to investigate, they heard movement behind a box, and immediately aimed their weapons at the box.

"Wait, don't shoot! I'm human!" The man said.

"Sneaking around like that almost got you killed!" Shepard shouted, lowering her rifle.

"I…I'm sorry, I was hiding…from those creatures," The terrified man said. "My…name's Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him!"

"Other one? What the hell are you talking about?" Shepard asked.

"There were two turians here; your friend, and another one he called 'Saren'," Powell said. "I think they knew each other, because you friend seemed to relax, let his guard down. And Saren killed him! Shot him right in the back of the head! I'm just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates…"

"Where'd Saren go after he killed Nihlus?" Shepard asked. Once again, his terrified rambling was the only source of information, and Shepard would take what she could get at this point.

"He…jumped on the cargo tram to the other platform. P…probably going after the beacon," Powell said.

_Shit!_ Shepard thought, as Powell rambled on about how everything had gone to hell since they found the beacon. "We need to get there now! Williams, take point!"

"One more thing; I've got some grenades you might be able to use. I did some smuggling before the attack, but you might get some more use out of them than I will."

Rage filled Williams' eyes, and started shouting at how they were trying to protect him and how he was ripping them off. Powell's poor explanation was how they were just farmers, and no one missed a few pieces from the military orders.

"Ignore him Williams; he's not worth it," Shepard said. "Now take point like I told you."

Williams gave a silent confirmation, and moved into position, while Shepard directed her attention at Powell. "As for you, hand over those grenades. And if I ever catch you smuggling again, I will kill you myself, you understand?"

"I get you…m-my smuggling days are over, I swear!" He said, as he handed Shepard the grenades.

Returning to her combat officer mindset, Shepard made her way over to Williams as Williams fed her gun camera data through everyone's video channel. Shepard saw that there was a geth trooper around the corner, and could faintly make out a couple of drones around the railing. Shepard took this opportunity to toss one of the grenades that Powell had given her over the railing, taking out the drones in the process. The explosion caused the geth trooper to investigate where the grenade had come from, but it was immediately taken down by Alenko's shotgun. Shepard made her way around the corner, and saw another geth trooper, who fired a tech mine at her. Shepard dove to the side and raised her rifle at the geth, only to hear the telltale alarm that her rifle had overheated.

"Dammit!" Shepard shouted. "Alenko! Williams! Take him out! I need to switch weapons!"

Williams blurted out her confirmation while Shepard slapped her assault rifle on her back and pulled out her shotgun. "Williams, how good a sniper are you?" Shepard shouted.

"Top of my class ma'am!" Williams said. "I could take down a fly at 1200 meters!"

"Good. My rifle's overheated, so I don't have a quick weapon with range. I'll need you to cover my back."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Williams said, moving to the corner of the stairwell to get into the best sniper position possible.

"Alenko, you're with me! Let's move!" Shepard said, as she charged out from her position and around the stairwell. Shepard took down the remaining drone as she made her way down the stairs, hearing Williams pop off two shots with her sniper rifle.

"Clear in front of you, Commander," Williams said, as Shepard and Alenko reached cover.

"Well done, Williams," Shepard said, blasting a geth that Williams hadn't seen with her shotgun. "Get down here and get to cover. Alenko and I are going to charge their line, so make sure we don't get overwhelmed."

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Williams said, making her way down from the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Alenko scanned the tram platform for what they were going to have to deal with. "I'd say a dozen geth are waiting for us; maybe more," Alenko said. "We shouldn't have too much of a problem with them if we're careful."

"Good," Shepard said. "How are your energy levels?"

Alenko thought for a moment, before realizing what Shepard was talking about. "A little drained, but otherwise fine. I'd say I have two, maybe three, more good pushes before I need to replenish."

Shepard nodded, understanding the terms that Alenko was using; channeling biotics took a LOT of energy, and active military biotics were given a larger ration than normal troops; twice the calorie intake, if Shepard remembered correctly. They were also rationed energy drinks on combat missions, so they could replenish their sugars and electrolytes quickly if needed.

As soon as Williams got down to cover, Shepard tossed a flash bang into the closest cluster of Geth. Once the flash was gone, Shepard and Alenko dashed forward to cover. From there, they took down the closest geth to them, while Williams took careful aim at the furthest geth she could hit. From there, she moved forward while Shepard and Alenko fought a skirmish with the geth closest to them.

They continued this strategy; Shepard and Alenko charging while Williams sniped at the furthest geth, and Williams moving forward while Shepard and Alenko fought a skirmish. Just as the last target fell, Shepard got the confirmation that her rifle had cooled down. Shepard switched back to her assault rifle as they made their way to the tram. The squad quickly made their way to the controls, and prepared for an ambush once they got there.

Once they got to the other platform, Shepard noticed a large explosive sitting just off the landing platform.

"Nukes!" Shepard shouted. "Alenko, shut this thing down while Williams and I cover you!"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Alenko shouted, as he made his way to the bomb.

The squad darted forward to the bomb, and Shepard and Williams a defensive position around Alenko as he worked to disarm the bomb. Six seconds later, Alenko had successfully disarmed the bomb, and the squad ran to the next bomb. They continued this strategy until they had disarmed all four bombs, and had taken out every geth that they came across.

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief as a wave of cool air flooded her body. She grinned slightly at the knowledge that Alliance armors were climate controlled; they were designed to keep their bodies within a certain temperature range.

But Shepard knew that they weren't done yet; there was still the beacon to take care of. Shepard ordered the squad around the corner and into the best cover as she swept her gun camera around the battlefield. Finding her view blocked by an overhang, Shepard sighed. "I can't get a good sight downstairs," Shepard said over the radio. "We're going in blind, so watch yourselves."

Shepard got confirmation on her headset, and the squad moved down the stairs. Once Shepard got to the first landing, she heard the screeching of the giant spikes that held the husks. She also saw a geth trooper just barely behind cover in front of her. Shepard brought up her assault rifle, and took it down while Williams and Alenko handled one Shepard hadn't seen.

When the husks came into view, Shepard saw the right most one go flying off the platform. Noting that Alenko had used his biotics on it, she concentrated on the other husk, taking it down in short order. From there, the squad bunkered down, and Shepard once again scanned the battlefield with her gun camera. Sure that all hostiles were dead, Shepard gave them the all clear signal, and immediately radioed the Normandy.

"Normandy, the beacon is secure," Shepard said on her radio. "Request immediate evac at coordinates..." She rattled off the latitude and longitude of their location on the planet, and waited for confirmation from Joker. A moment later, she got that confirmation, and gave him her confirmation.

It was at that moment that Shepard had turned around, and noticed that Lt. Alenko had decided to take a closer look at the beacon. Without warning, the beacon threw out a shockwave, and started pulling Alenko to it. Shepard pushed Williams out of her way, and darted over to Alenko. Upon reaching him, she grabbed Alenko and tossed him to the side, only to be caught in the beacon's pull herself. Shepard felt herself raised into the air, and then she felt another pulse come from the beacon.

And then the images came. They were fragmented, coming at her faster than her mind could comprehend, but she could make some things out; machines, blood, explosions, unfamiliar buildings…and then the beacon exploded, knocking Shepard back. She hit the ground hard, and the last thing Shepard saw before blacking out was Alenko's feet coming toward her.

When Shepard came to, she noticed that she was in the Normandy's medical bay, and had been taken out of her armor. The first thing she heard was Alenko's voice calling for the doctor. Shepard looked around as she sat up, and saw two faces; Alenko and Doctor Chakwas. "You had us worried, Shepard," Chakwas said, as she walked over to her. "How are you feeling?"

Shepard immediately noticed a pounding headache as she sat up. "Like the morning after shore leave," She joked. "How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours," Chakwas said. "Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

"It's my fault," Alenko started in. "I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."

Shepard was upset at Alenko, but she knew he hadn't done anything wrong. "You had no way to know what would happen. I mean, it's not like we're experts on the Protheans or their tech." Shepard could swear that she saw Alenko grin slightly in her peripheral vision, but said nothing.

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off," Chakwas interrupted. "But, we'll never get the chance to find out."

Shepard leaned back. "It exploded, didn't it?" She said.

"System overload, probably," Alenko said. "But what do you expect from 50,000 year old technology?"

"Did you get me back to the ship?" Shepard asked.

"Williams and I did," Alenko said. "Captain Anderson offered her a place on the Normandy once you were aboard and I gave my report. We retrieved her personals while you were being tended to."

"Physically, you're fine," Doctor Chakwas added. "But I detected some unusual brain activity; abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

_More like a nightmare,_ Shepard thought. "I don't know what I saw; death, destruction, some machines…nothing's really clear."

Doctor Chakwas just shook her head. "I'd better add this to my report, then. It may…" She said, before being interrupted by the door. They looked over, and saw Captain Anderson walk in.

"How's our XO holding up, doctor?" Anderson asked.

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine," Chakwas said.

"Glad to hear it," Anderson said. He turned his head to Shepard. "Shepard, I need to speak to you in private. Can you come to my office?"

"Yes sir, I'll be right there," Shepard said, sliding off the bed. "Just as soon as this headache dies down."

"Understood, Commander," Anderson said. He did an about-face, and then exited the room.

A few minutes later, Shepard entered Captain Anderson's office, following the same traditions she had when she first came aboard the Normandy.

"That beacon hit you pretty hard," Anderson said as Shepard sat down.

"Kicked my ass," Shepard said. "I feel worse than the morning after I got my commission."

Anderson grinned, knowing what Shepard meant, but got back to business. "Things look bad for us, Shepard. Nihlus is dead, the beacon destroyed, and geth are invading. The Council is going to want answers."

"You know as well as I do that I did nothing wrong," Shepard said. "That colony would have gone up in nuclear fire if it hadn't been for us."

"I'm not judging you Shepard. You're a damn hero in my book, and I'll stand by your report," Anderson said. "I'm actually more concerned with that other turian, Saren."

"Saren's a Spectre, isn't he?" Shepard said. "He's got a reputation for being an extremely brutal and sadistic agent, but also extremely effective in what he does."

Anderson nodded. "Correct. But if he's working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. And a rogue Spectre is trouble."

Shepard thought about what a "rogue Spectre" meant; Spectres could do anything they saw necessary to get the job done, so anything short of treason was within a Spectre's domain.

"So what do we do? It's not like we can present this information without definitive proof," Shepard said.

"It's also well known about Saren's racist tendencies towards us," Anderson said. "Hopefully, we should be able to focus on that, while presenting the information about his attack and alliance with the geth."

"Racist? How?" Shepard asked. "What happened, did a human kill his family or something."

"You're closer to the truth than you realize, Shepard," Anderson said. "Saren lost a brother during the First Contact War. He's hated humans ever since."

Shepard thought for a moment before speaking again. "This attack doesn't seem racially motivated, though," She said. "I mean, he's allied with the geth. He's got an army at his disposal." As an afterthought, Shepard added, "Besides, isn't he equally cruel to all of his enemies?"

"You've done your homework on Saren, I see," Anderson added. "But Spectres don't just attack colonies for no reason. And I'm sure his racist views likely had something to do with the attack on Eden Prime. And he must have been after that beacon, and he manipulated the geth into working for him."

"But everything in that beacon was scrambled," Shepard said. "Most I got from the vision I had was synthetics killing people and blowing things up."

Shepard could tell that Anderson was shocked with the mention of a vision, but he quickly got back on track. "We need to report this to the council," he said.

"What are we going to tell them? That I had a bad dream?" Shepard said sarcastically.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. All we know is what you saw and that Saren wanted it," Anderson said. "They need to know about this, if only to stop Saren from doing whatever he's doing."

"Then I guess we've got to prove that Saren's gone rogue," Shepard said. _And hopefully convince the Council to admit me as a Spectre so I can hunt him down and stop whatever he's got planned._

"I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the council. He'll want to see us as soon as he gets to the Citadel," Anderson said. "In the mean time, tell Alenko and Williams that the three of you need to get into your dress uniforms. Being the ground team, you three have first hand knowledge of what happened there."

Shepard nodded, saluted Captain Anderson, and then exited the room, only to find both Alenko and Williams in the mess hall.

"Commander, I'm glad to see that you're okay!" Williams said as Shepard exited the Captain's quarters.

"The Captain wants the three of us in our dress uniforms before we hit the Citadel; we're meeting with the council," Shepard said.

Alenko and Williams nodded, and all three headed down to their lockers. As they started changing, Shepard saw that Williams was a little hesitant.

"Something wrong, Williams?" Shepard asked.

"No, Commander!" Williams immediately shot back. "It's just…I feel guilty over what happened. I mean, this was Jenkins' locker, right? If he was still alive, I might not be here."

"Williams, Jenkins was a raw recruit who wasn't paying attention to what was going on; you have nothing to do with us losing him," Shepard said, as she buttoned her dress pants.

"But, if my unit hadn't been killed…" Williams said before being interrupted by Shepard.

"You were put in a circumstance that no one had expected, and you fought hard to survive. Not only that, you proved yourself capable on the battlefield. You earned your spot on the Normandy, and on my team," Shepard said.

"Thanks Commander," Williams said. "I appreciate that."

"Good. Now, finish getting dressed; we don't want the Captain waiting for us when we dock with the Citadel," Shepard said.

When they were all finished getting dressed, Shepard brought Williams and Alenko to the cockpit to see the Citadel through the window. Shepard herself had never seen the Citadel, and wanted to see it as much as she was sure Alenko and Williams were.

The sight of the Citadel was awe inspiring; the central ring was larger than anything Shepard had ever seen in her time in the Alliance military. The central ring's diameter was 12.8km, with four arms extending from it. Each ward arm was 43.6km in length and 330m thick.

But the station was not what grabbed Shepard, Alenko and Williams' attention; it was the Destiny Ascension, the flagship of the Citadel fleet, and a marvel of asari engineering. The Ascension was four times larger than any Alliance dreadnaught, and its main gun could rip through the kinetic barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet.

As the ground team stared at the Ascension in awe, Joker contacted Citadel control and requested clearance to land. Upon receiving confirmation and being transferred to an Alliance operator, Joker brought the Normandy in to the docking area.

"Are you ready?" Captain Anderson said when the Normandy had come to a stop.

"Yes sir," Shepard said.

"Good. After you three deal with customs, we should be able see the Ambassador within an hour," Anderson said, leading the group to the airlock.

Shepard nodded, understanding the bureaucracy inherent in any government; yes, they were all technically considered Citadel citizens since they were all Alliance, but they need to get their ID's active for the Citadel, since Shepard, Alenko and Williams had never been there before.

The trip through customs was relatively painless, as Shepard thought it would be; since they were Alliance citizens, they just needed to "sign in" as it were, to get their ID's activated. They also had to listen to a couple of briefings on a few things; certain rules for the Presidium and the wards, how everyone fell under Citadel authority now, advising them not to eat or drink things meant for the turians…standard stuff when dealing with foreign customs. They also got the "military members" briefing, where they were told that, since they were military, some things were different; for example, they were allowed to carry firearms into the Presidium, but only so long as they were on duty.

Eventually, Anderson led Shepard and her team into Donnel Udina's office, the System's Alliance official representative in the Citadel government. As they entered his office, they could see Ambassador Udina already dealing with the Council, shouting about how the Council's inaction regarding the geth attack was an outrage, and how they would step in if the geth had attacked a turian colony. The Council, of course, was resistant, telling Udina that it was the human's fault for founding colonies so closer to the Terminus Systems, saying that humanity was well aware of the risks when they went into the Traverse. Shepard just rolled her eyes, knowing that wasn't true in the slightest; Eden Prime had been colonized long before they had heard the terms "Attican Traverse" or "Terminus Systems". However, she said nothing; she knew the Council would just smack her comments down immediately.

The meeting continued to anger Shepard, as the Council shot down Udina's demands for action against Saren. Shepard could understand where the Council would defend Saren; he was their "best" agent, after all. But Shepard had seen first hand what Saren had done, and was likely to do with his geth army.

Eventually, Udina's meeting with the Council ended, and he turned his attention to Shepard and Captain Anderson.

"Captain Anderson," Udina said snidely. "I see you brought half your crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime," Anderson shot back. "In case you had any questions."

"I read the reports," Udina remarked. "I assume they're accurate."

"They're accurate," Shepard said angrily. "Unless you don't trust the Alliance's recording equipment installed into our weapons and armor."

"Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience," Anderson interjected. Shepard never liked dealing with politicians, and despite the fact that she knew how, she was glad that the captain had spoke up.

"They were NOT happy about it," Udina said. "Saren's their top agent; they don't like him being accused of treason."

"They don't have to like it; it doesn't make it any less true," Shepard said. "I'm not going to sit on my ass while Saren runs around wiping out human colonies."

This got a rise out of Udina. "Settle down, _Commander_, you've already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres."

"I proved I could get the job done, Udina. Not only did I repel a geth invasion, but I also stopped Saren from nuking the entire planet. The video and audio logs are proof of that," Shepard shot back. "And it's not our fault a 50,000 year old piece of electronics overloaded."

"Exactly; Nihlus ended up dead, and the beacon was destroyed!" Udina said.

"That's Saren's fault, not her's!" Anderson said.

"Then we'd better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to verify our accusations!" Udina shot back. He then glared at Shepard. "Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." He then looked back at Anderson. "For now, come with me; I need to go over some things with you before the meeting. As for Shepard and her team, they can meet us at the tower later; I'll make sure they have clearance."

As they heard Anderson and Udina leave the room, Williams blurted out, "And that's why I hate politicians."

"You and me both, Williams," Shepard said. "And I don't like putting this thing in the hands of C-Sec. I mean, they're cops, how are they supposed to handle an investigation on a rogue Spectre?"

"That's what C-Sec does, Commander," Alenko said. "They are paid and trained for that sort of thing."

"Alenko, I've seen the job cops do, and most aren't worth a damn. When it came down to keeping the peace on the colonies I've been stationed at, it was _us_ that did all the work, not the police," Williams shot back.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it now," Shepard said. "And we've still some time before the meeting with the Council. For now, let's play tourist; I'd like to see what the Presidium has to offer."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Williams said, as they headed out the door.

**Glossary of Terms:**

Dress uniform-When I was in the Air Force, we had two uniforms; Dress Uniforms, and BDUs. BDUs were used for everyday functions and jobs that required physical effort. It was also used for combat as well; we wore the armor, web belts, and all the gear over the BDUs.

Dress uniforms are suit like uniforms that are worn to present a good image. They're usually worn when presenting yourself to the public. Captain Anderson and Admiral Kohoku are wearing the Mass Effect System's Alliance dress uniform.


End file.
